


Wings of Fire: Retold (The Dragonet Prophecy)

by StarTheMoonWing



Series: Wings of Fire: Retold [1]
Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asha isn't dead yay, F/M, Homophobia, IceWings (Wings of Fire), M/M, Morrowseer is still a piece of crap, MudWings (Wings of Fire), NightWings (Wings of Fire), RainWings (Wings of Fire), SandWings (Wings of Fire), SeaWings (Wings of Fire), Selectively Mute Tsunami, SkyWings (Wings of Fire), actually everyone has issues, again kind of, also Kestrel has issues, also posted on quotev, and not lazy, because no amount of AU's can change him and his non-existent personality, but Clay is mean now, but they SHOULD, clay is homophobic oh no, dragons don't have sign language, kind of, the RainWings are evil now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28544685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarTheMoonWing/pseuds/StarTheMoonWing
Summary: Imagine if the characters that you knew and love, the ones that you watched grow, were entirely different. Heroes become villains, foes become friends. In this rewritten version of Wings of Fire, filled with mystery and utter betrayal, I will show you world almost entirely different from what you once knew.Also posted on Quotev
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Wings of Fire: Retold [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101605
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, here I go.
> 
> This can also be found on my Quotev account, @StarTheMoonWing. I decided I would have this story on both websites because I wanted to expand a bit.
> 
> Originally I was rewriting Wings of Fire from the ground up, but that was a stupid choice so here's a basic explanation:
> 
> Personalities are different. Not all of them, but most of them. Things that happened before might happen in this story, but for different reasons. Some characters who die might live and some who lived may die. The back stories on some characters will be different. Also, some characters in the original books might not even be in here at all.
> 
> Even with that said, some things might also be the same. Like I mentioned before, things will happen that happened before, but for different reasons. And even possibly different outcomes.
> 
> Enjoy!

A dragon was trying to hide from the storm

Hvitur clutched the large, purple RainWing egg in his talons, flying through the sky. He could hear RainWing guards chasing him and shouting for him to stop. He ignored them, continuing to make his way through the miserable storm. He couldn't let them catch him. He needed to get the egg to the mountain.

He was still so far away. He just wanted to get back, so these RainWings would stop chasing him. He was constantly having to dodge their venom attacks, or else he and the egg would we done for. He knew the prophecy- he had rehearsed it and studied it dozens of times. He knew what had to be done, and this egg was a vital part of it. He was just about to sneak away from the Rainforest Kingdom, but some obnoxiously bright RainWing saw him, and now he was here. It was hard, but he almost managed.

Almost.

Suddenly, a RainWing had tackled him mid-air, clawing at his wing, ripping holes in it. He screeched in pain, hissing loudly. He attempted to blast frostbreath at his attacker, but was unable to focus as he fell to the ground. Luckily, the ground wasn't too far, but the impact was still extremely painful, sending shockwaves throughout his entire body. He could've sworn he heard a snapping sound coming from his other, non-ripped-up wing, supposedly indicating it was broken. He was still holding the miraculously intact egg, grasping it tightly. He was breathing heavily, groaning from the intense torment in his body, lifting his head to see who his attacker was. 

A black and white RainWing flew down and landed in front of him, sneering. Her scales turned a blood red and gold colour as she glared down at the injured IceWing. She flexed her wings, almost as if to taunt him about his own, mangled wings that currently rendered him flightless. He growled at the RainWing, and tried to stand up, but the effort was torturous, making him collapse from pain. The Rainforest dragon laughed at him, a sadisitc laugh that burned into his memory. He noticed that the nearby RainWing guards were in still in the air, flying in place as they watched the events below unfold. It was like an audience. Eventually, the laughter died down, and she turned her merciless gaze to Hvitur's claws, where the egg was being held. Something about the way she looked, her posture and body shape, made something suddenly click in his mind.

This wasn't just any normal dragon. This was the Queen. A pit formed in his stomach. No one had ever seen the RainWing Queen before and lived. Terror coursed through his veins.

"Give me the egg." She snarled. Hvitur was surprised how straightforward she was about the matter. But Hvitur wouldn't give in.

"No." He spat. "This egg is part of the prophe-" before he could finish, the RainWing interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I already know. The six amazing Dragonets of awesomeness." She said, her voice dripping with venom. "Too bad it won't come true."

"It will." Hvitur insisted. "They will take you down."

"Oh, is that so?" She tilted her head, a malicious smile spread across her face.

"Yes." The IceWing snapped.

The RainWing narrowed her eyes. She took a few steps forward, looked down at his immobile self, then outstretched her jaw.

Before Hvitur could properly register the situation, a horrible burning pain with the impact of tiny water droplets sprouted across his face, neck and body. He screamed, stumbling backwards on his half-working legs, causing the egg rolling out of his talons and onto the ground in front of the Queen. 

"AAAAAAAAGH!" He shrieked, feeling the venom seep into his skin, causing such horrible discomfort that he wanted to claw his scales off.

It wasn't too long before his screams died down, as he collapsed to the floor. The venom hadn't hit any vital parts of his body, causing him a death even slower and more painful than a normal RainWing attack. He saw the black and white dragon scoop the egg into her claws, investigating it, tapping it's shell playfully.

"Hello, little dragonet of destiny." She whispered, giggling.

"No...don't..." Hvitur struggled to speak, feeling himself losing consciousness.

The dragon looked at him, a glint of evil in her eyes. "Or what?" She hissed.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the RainWing Queen smashed the egg into the ground, splintering into pieces. Hvitur was shocked, but he couldn't show it. He was growing weaker. He was dying.

"Oh well, so much for your pathetic propechy." She smirked. She took even more steps towards Hvitur's dying body, then leaned down and looked into his closing eyes.

"My name is Madness, the Queen of the RainWings." She said. "And I will end this prophecy."

Then, everything went dark.

\---

Kestrel was pacing back and forth, waiting desperately for Hvitur to return. The IceWing should've been back already, causing her to worry. The brightest night would only last for so long, and without the RainWing egg, it would be incomplete.

The NightWing, IceWing, SandWing, SeaWing and MudWing egg were all lying in the nest. All they needed was the RainWing. What was taking so long?

Asha observed the red SkyWing pacing, growing more and more concerned. She cautiously walked over to try and calm her, but was swiftly interrupted. 

The cave door slammed open, and in came a shivering SeaWing who was clutching a crimson red egg in his talons. Kestrel narrowed her eyes at the trembling dragon, smoke pluming from her nostrils.

"Where have you been, Webs? Where's Hvitur?" She immediately questioned.

"Calm down, Kestrel." Asha said softly. She turned back to Webs. "What happened." 

Kestrel then noticed the egg he was holding, and she stared at it, wide-eyed and repulsed.

"And what is that?" She growled, pointing at the egg. Asha stayed quiet. 

Webs sighed. "Hvitur has been killed, and the RainWing egg was destroyed." He explained.

Asha's eyes widened with shock. She looked utterly horrified, but also sad at the same time, for Hvitur was a good friend. Kestrel, however, was filled with rage,

"So instead, you brought a measly SkyWing egg?" She snapped. 

"Kestrel!" Asha said scoldingly. One thing about Kestrel was that she referred to herself and SkyWings as completely separate dragons. Asha knew that she was ashamed of her own tribe. 

"After Hvitur was caught, they put the Rainforest kingdom on high alert." Webs said, his voice shaking. "I wouldn't be able to get in, no matter what I did. And besides, SkyWings are too busy rolling around in treasure to notice a missing egg."

"This will never work!" Kestrel barked. "We need a RainWing!"

Before Asha could object, a low voice came from behind.

"It's too late for that." The three guardians turned their head to see Dune walking towards them. "The eggs are already hatching." 

Before anyone could respond, he gently grabbed the egg from Webs' talons, placing it alongside the other eggs. Asha smiled at him, glad that he wasn't arguing. Asha was still sad about the death of Hvitur, and she would mourn him later, but there was no time for that now. Not even five minutes later, a MudWing burst out of the egg, making Asha jump. The guardians all faced the nest and rushed over to see the small MudWing dragonet.

"He's cute." Web cooed. "A bit blobbier than I expected, but still cute."

Asha chuckled at his comment. To be honest, MudWings were a bit on the bigger side, but to hear Webs say it aloud was a fairly funny. The MudWing looked at them for a long moment, before turning his head back to the eggs, and leaping on top of the blue SeaWing egg.

"What is he doing??" Kestrel exclaimed, but Asha cut her off.

"It's okay, it's normal. He's just helping them." Asha explained. "He must be the bigwings." 

Kestrel chose not to question what a 'bigwings' was, and just grunted, shuffling her wings. The small MudWing continued to help his fellow dragonets out of their eggs, before six small, adorable dragons were rolling around in the nest. Asha noticed that Kestrel was glaring intensely at the small, bright red SkyWing who was flailing around. 

"It'll be fine." She whispered. "At least we have six dragonets."

"What should we name them?" Dune asked.

"What about..." Webs tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Clay?"

Asha nodded. "I think that's a great name."

Webs smile at her and she smiled back, before turning their attention back to the dragonets. Asha felt it in her bones- these six dragonets would help to take down the RainWing Queen. To help save the world.

They would be heroes.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay wants to be a hero. And he wants to do it alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tags do say 'selectively mute Tsunami' but since Tsunami, Sunny and Starflight don't really talk at all in this chapter because I was lazy you don't really notice, but it will come up later.

Clay had lived under a mountain his whole life, and not once did he enjoy it. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to save the world from the awful RainWing Queen. He had spent six years of his life training and studying, and all he wanted was to be set free. To spread his wings and fly straight to the Rainforest kingdom, kill the Queen, and be the hero everyone wanted. That was everything he wished for. He just hated that he had to drag five other incompetent dragons with him.

His thoughts were interrupted by Asha's stern but kind voice.

"Pay attention, Clay. We're in the middle of a lecture." She said.

Clay pondered the idea of ignoring his aunt or sneaking away from the lecture, but he chose to just roll his eyes and try to focus on the map that Asha was pointing to. Hawk, the SkyWing, was currently fidgeting with a piece of loose leaf in his claws, ignoring the lesson completely.

How come I got told off but he didn't? Clay thought bitterly. He wanted to jump at the SkyWing or snarl at him or something to get him to stop being so insufferable. That SkyWing wasn't even supposed to be in the prophecy. He was just a last minute replacement.

Sunny, the SandWing, and Starflight, the NightWing, were both paying close attention to what Asha was saying. Starflight didn't have any powers, so he was basically useless. Sunny was at least a normal, barbed SandWing, but even she was a nobody. Tsunami looked like she was trying to listen, but kept drifting in and out from a sleeping state. Clay knew that it was likely from the lack of sleep she's been getting, but he still glared at her. She didn't notice. 

Polar, the IceWing, was looking at Hawk, not Asha, and seemed for focused on whatever he was doing. He appeared to be dazed, and Clay knew exactly what he was feeling. He snorted, realizing how idiotic his fellow 'dragonets of destiny' were. He huffed, arching his neck slightly. He knew that he was far more superior then any of the others, having both fireproof scales AND excellent hunting and fighting skills. He should just fulfill the prophecy on his own. He didn't need the others.

"Well, that concludes this lecture!" Asha said cheerfully.

Starflight sighed, walking towards a cave hall, with Sunny following close behind, her poisonous barb trailing dangerously behind her. Tsunami yawned and stumbled away, half asleep. Polar snapped out of his trance, shaking his head as his cheeks turned dark blue. Hawk was just about to walk away, before Polar called out to him.

"Hey, can I come with you?" He asked the SkyWing eagerly. Hawk tilted his head.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Hawk said with a shrug.

Polar excitedly followed Hawk to the library, leaving Clay alone with his aunt. Clay scrunched his snout. Love. Between two male dragons, no less. How disgusting. They should be focusing on stopping the RainWing Queen, not moping around like a bunch of lovebirds. Just being near them makes him feel stupid, and every second he spent with them just further proved his point. 

"Clay?" Asha asked, noticing he was lost in his thoughts again. He hissed at the other MudWing before stomping off.

He went back to the dormitory, noticing Tsunami tossing and turning in her sleep, jolting awake every few moments. She was the only other dragon there, so Clay decided to leave and find someplace that was empty where he could have his alone time.

Starflight and Sunny were in the library, being a bunch of obnoxious know-it-alls, while Polar and Hawk were in the eating room, gulping down a cow. Clay realized just how hungry he was, but he refused to be in the same room as the two, so he left to find somewhere else. He soon found an empty room, which happened to be the study room. It was a mostly useless room, considering that everyone just studied anywhere they wanted, so he finally got some peace and quiet. He was able to occupy himself with his thoughts again, wondering about the outside world.

And then, he was cut off. Again. Why couldn't he just be alone?

"Clay, you all need to head back to your dormitories." Said a voice that he knew was Dune's.

"Why?" He grumbled.

"Just go." The SandWing guardian ordered.

Clay rolled his eyes and obeyed his orders, heading back the dormitories. When he got there, Tsunami was no longer trying to sleep, and instead she was just sitting in the corner, staring at the other dragonets who were already asleep with a look of envy. As Clay walked in, she twitched and snapped her head towards him, but quickly looked away when she realized who he was. He climbed onto his hammock, yawning and closing his eyes.

\---

Clay awoke to a loud, clattering sound, only to realize that Tsunami and Sunny were missing. He looked around, but the only remaining dragons were Polar, Hawk and Starflight. He honestly didn't care at they were gone, but the loud sound intruiged him, so he reluctantly got out of his hammock. Unfortunately for him, Polar awoke to this sound, and stared at him, confused.

"What are you doing? Where's Tsunami and Sunny?" He asked. "Hawk, Starflight, wake up!" 

Clay groaned. Now they were going to get in his way even more. The three other dragons trailed behind him as he snuck out of the dormitories, wanting to investigate the noise. He peeked his head around a corner, noticing both Tsunami and Sunny in the river stream, poking their heads out just a little bit so they could spy on the conversation that the guardians were having. He didn't really care about what the two were doing, but also liked the idea of eavesdropping on the guardians.

He slowly glided into the water, careful not to make any noise, and swam up to where Tsunami and Sunny were. They looked shocked when he joined, but then he glared with a look that said 'this is temporary'. They all swam a little closer, and he noticed that the three other dragonets who chose to follow him had stayed behind

What a bunch of scaredy-cats. As Clay got closer, he could pick up a few of the words that the guardians were saying.

"Why is he coming? We've still got two more years!" Asha said.

"He probably heard about that measly SkyWing replacement, and wants to confront a certain someone." Kestrel hissed, shooting a glance at Webs. 

"Kestrel! Hawk is perfectly capable of fulfilling this prophecy!" Asha yelled.

Yeah, right. Hawk is anything but capable. Clay really got caught on this mystery dragon they were talking about, however. Who was 'he' and what did he want?

"Well, he's no RainWing." Kestrel muttered. 

"We must call over the other dragonets. He might want to speak with them." Dune piped up.

"You don't have to do that." Clay said, climbing out of the water along with the other two. Hawk, Polar and Starflight cautiously peeked their heads out from the corner.

"Have you been spying on us?!" Kestrel snapped, but Asha shot her a scolding look. 

"Who are you talking about?" Clay asked, ignoring Kestrel's loud remark.

Dune and Webs stayed silent, and smoke just piled around Kestrel's snout. Asha was the one too respond. 

"The one who foretold the prophecy." She said in a grand voice. "Morrowseer."

Clays eyes widened. The one who foretold the prophecy would be coming here? Like, right now? He felt excited. Would they be let out early, so they could just end the terrible RainWing queens' reign? Maybe he would realize that Clay is the only one who deserved to be in the prophecy, and he'd get rid of the others so he could go off on his own. Morrowseer would finally realize his potential, or the lack of it from the others. 

He hard the sound of flapping wings from above. Really, really loud wings. He jumped, facing upwards, shock riddling his face. A large, black NightWing - like, a really large NightWing - emerged from above, landing in front of the dragonets who had all gathered together while Clay was thinking.

"Hello, dragonets." He said in a slithering voice. Clay already liked him.

Morrowseer immediately looked over at Hawk, who was trembling in fear. He looked disgusted, as if Hawk was a bunch of maggots he had found in his lunch. 

I know, right? He thought. Knowing that Morrowseer could most likely read minds, he wanted to show just how much he agreed with him. He wanted to get on his good side.

"What is that?" Morrowseer hissed, his voice filled with loathing for a dragonet he had just looked at. He had probably looked in his mind and saw how much of a wimp he was. 

Starflight was standing behind Hawk and Polar, gazing up at Morowseer in awe. He had never seen another NightWing before, so he was probably excited as well. 

"It's Webs' fault." Kestrel said, pointing at the SeaWing guardian. "He brought it at a replacement."

Clay look at Hawk, who seemed genuinely hurt by her comment. Kestrel was constantly bullying him, despite how hard Asha tried to get her to stop. Clay often bullied Hawk as well. He was just a replacement, after all.

Morrowseer narrowed his eyes at Hawk, frowning. Or was that just his face? Does he just always frown and be mean and stuff, or does he have a real personality?

"Listen, Morrowseer." Asha said, getting his attention. "Hawk is just as good as any of them. At least we have six dragonets."

Morrowseer scoffed. "Do you really expect a SkyWing to be capable of handling this prophecy?" He asked. "He'll probably get distracted by the 'shiny RainWings' then get caught and killed."

Clay nodded. Sunny looked at him in shock, as though he'd just offended her. Polar looked outraged at what Morrowseer was saying. He immediately jumped in, in order to retaliate against the large NightWing.

"Don't you talk about Hawk like that!" He said, defending the SkyWing dragonet.

Morrowseer narrowed his eyes at Polar. Asha quickly directed the conversation away.

"So, uh, why are you here?" She asked.

"Are you here to let us go?" Clay butted in.

"I am here to make sure that the prophecy is gong smoothly." He responded to the both of them. "It seemed that we have had a small mistake."

That was the last straw for Polar. He immediately leaped at Morrowseer, clawing at his large figure, red blood smearing across his glistening white scales. Morrowseer roared, flinging the IceWing off of him as he was thrown to a wall, grunting in pain.

Hawk and Sunny were the next to attack. Hawk had leaped at his tail, sinking his teeth into the black scales, where as Sunny was holding up her barbed tail threateningly. Starflight jumped in soon enough, and Clay decide to do so as well, just for the fun of fighting. Starflight looked hesitant attack another NightWing, but still reluctantly fought back. Both he and Clay blasted fire in his direction, making Morrowseer's scales burn. The only one who wasn't fighting was Tsunami, who was hiding in the water still.

Eventually, Morrowseer shook Sunny and Hawk off of him, then blasted fire at Starflight and Clay. Starflight had dodged out of the way, but Clay stayed unaffected due to his fireproof scales. Soon, the fighting died down, and Morrowseer's began to scan each dragonets carefully. Polar had shakily gotten up, returning alongside the others.

"Hmm..." Morrowseer said thoughtfully. "These two will do well." He said, pointing to Starflight and Clay.

"These ones... we will have to see." He growled, pointing to Sunny and Polar.

"That one barely put up a fight. How useless." Morrowseer hissed at Tsunami, who cowered in the water.

"As for the SkyWing..." Morrowseer trailed off, glaring bitterly at the SkyWing.

Clay felt as though Morrowseer was being a bit rude. Sure, Hawk was an idiot, and a replacement, but he at least put up a fight. Morrowseer didn't even choose to acknowledge that. 

"You, NightWing." He barked. "You must lead these dragons. You are a NightWing, and we are superior." 

Clay was offended. After all that, he thought that Starflight, of all dragons, had to be the leader? He snorted. Maybe Morrowseer was just as blind to his talent as the others. And what was all that talk about NightWings being superior? NightWings literally live under the rule of the RainWing Queen. Wasn't that the whole point of the prophecy? To save the NightWings? How are they superior if they are being used as slaves for a queen that isn't even of their own tribe?

"Everyone, return to your dormitories." Kestrel ordered. "We need to speak with Morrowseer."

The dragonets all nodded, and Polar limped as he walked. Once they returned, Tsunami immediately curled back into her corner. She was a bit of a freak, if Clay was being honest. Since he didn't have a choice, he rested his head onto his hammock, drifting off into sleep once again. Today was quite the odd day, and still, his amazing capabilities had gone unnoticed. When would they finally be set free into the world? To save the NightWings? How much longer did they have to wait?

He could only wonder.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay isn't sure about just how much he hates the other dragonets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than it needed to. I don't even like this chapter.

Clay felt many things after what happened the day before with Morrowseer. He felt angry, confused, and- well he wasn't sure what else he felt, but there was definitely something else. The whole ordeal had only caused him to hate Starflight even more. Why couldn't he just be noticed? What was so special about Starflight that made him so important to Morrowseer? He didn't know.

As he trudged to his history lesson, barely awake, he passed by Sunny and Starflight eating food. Great. The one dragon he hated most. Well, maybe not most. He sort of just hated everyone equally. It was at that moment his stomach rumbled, showing just how hungry he was. In fact he hadn't eaten at all yesterday. But he had better and more important things to do than eat. He shrugged it off, continuing on his path to wherever Webs was, their history teacher.

When he arrived in the history room, Hawk and Polar were patiently waiting for the others to arrive. Tsunami still hadn't arrived yet, remaining unseen. Clay hadn't seen her in the dormitories, nor anywhere else, so he assumed she was hiding out in the water for some unknown reason. If Clay took a guess, it was that she had been scared by a rat or something stupid like that and thought that the apocalypse was happening. She got scared over every little thing that happened. Clay thought Morrowseer would have definitely kicked Tsunami out, not just glare at her angrily. Why can't Tsunami just fight like a normal dragon? Why can't she just talk like a normal dragon?

"Uh. I'll go get the others." Webs said nervously. He glanced back at us a few times before slipping away out the cave.

Great. Now he was stuck with the two love dragons. He decided to go for a walk around while Webs searched for the others. Maybe he could even skip the class. Once Polar and Hawk looked away, he slithered away, and noticed Webs cautiously slipping into the river. Clay narrowed his eyes at the SeaWing, deciding he would silently follow him to see where he was going. He entered the water, seeing Webs' tail disappear around a corner.

As he followed close behind the SeaWing guardian, he noticed Webs climbing out from the water at around the main cave. He just barely poked his head above the water to spy on what was happening. He noticed the four guardians all gathered together, looking like some sort of meeting. He swam a bit closer to hear what they were saying. Didn't he just do this yesterday?

"None of them will see it coming." Kestrel said.

"How do you know they won't try and stop you?" Asha hissed, her voice angrier than usual. "Clay could probably do it."

"He doesn't even care about Hawk, or any of them." Dune remarked. "He would probably reward Kestrel for killing him."

Killing? Now that had peaked his interest. 

"But- Clay wouldn't want any of them to die, right?" Asha insisted.

Did Clay really want any of them to die? Sure, he made threats about it and thought about the idea sometimes, but it actually happening? Did he really hate them that much? 

"What about Starflight? He's an amazing fighter." Asha persisted with her argument.

"He only cares about Sunny. He wouldn't even mind if we got rid of Hawk." Kestrel said.

"But-" Asha began, but closed her mouth when Kestrel gave her a threatening look.

"It's Morrowseer's orders to kill that SkyWing." Kestrel snarled. "Then, he will get us a RainWing."

"You can't replace Hawk!" Asha yelled, eyes staring straight at Kestrel.

"Yes we can. He himself is a replacement, so it shouldn't matter." Kestrel replied with a snort.

Clay didn't want to listen anymore, for some reason. He ducked back underwater and headed towards the history room. He climbed out of the river, shaking the water off his scales, and sneaked back into class. He noticed that Sunny and Starflight were there now, yet still no Tsunami. Where had she gone to? Clay shook his head, ignoring the questioning thoughts. Polar heard Clay and turned to face the doorway.

"Clay, where were you?" He said, in an almost scolding manner.

"None of your business." He spat. Should he tell them about what he heard? Or should he just let Hawk die? He didn't know.

"Where's Tsunami?" Sunny asked, concerned.

Now that Clay thought about it, he didn't see Tsunami in the water. He was sure she would be there, yet she wasn't. Did she just disappear? Where could she have gone?

No. Clay couldn't think about it. It didn't matter, and it wasn't important to him.

"I don't know. I didn't see her." He snapped. Sunny frowned.

"I hope she's okay." She whispered to herself.

Clay rolled his eyes and flopped onto the ground, his head in his talons. He was at least grateful he got to miss some of history class, since it was the most boring thing in the world. As if on perfect cue to ruin his day, Webs came back to the classroom, and smiled when he saw the SandWing and NightWing. 

"Ah, welcome you two." He said with a nod, almost as if what Clay saw hadn't happened at all. "Where's Tsunami? I couldn't find her."

His smile fell when no one responded. "Well, that's unfortunate."

Despite that, he still went on with his lesson, which Clay ignored completely. He had no interesting what had already happened, only in what was going to happen. Tsunami was still missing, having not been seen the whole day. But Clay was not worried. Nope. Not at all. Besides, Tsunami was probably the worst out of all of them, anyways. She didn't fight, or talk, or sleep, or learn, she just showed up randomly, all twitchy, then ran off and was never to be seen for a random amount of time. Although, she was never usually gone for more than three hours, which had already passed long ago. Was she dead? Did the guardians decide to kill her too? When were they going to strike at Hawk?

No. He couldn't think about that right now. He quickly distracted himself by daydreaming about chucking the RainWing queen's lifeless body off a cliff and saving the two tribes. Yes, being a hero. He had to refrain from smiling in glee in front of the others. The best part of his daydream, was the part where none of the other dragonets appeared at all. He saved everyone in his own, just like it should be. Why couldn't that come true?

Yet, the idea of killing them off in order to fulfill his fantasies seemed a bit sadistic, even for him. He'd thought about maybe having them thrown out if the mountain, or being locked in dungeons until the prophecy was fulfilled, but killing them? Did he truly have to do that to get what he wanted? Did Hawk, and possibly Tsunami, really have to be killed just for the sake of the prophecy? Why couldn't they just be let go?

He groaned, realizing how many questions he was asking himself. He sounded just like Sunny and Starflight. Great. He was turning into a nerd. And it also sounded like he cared about the idiots. Except he didn't. He wanted to slam his head on a wall so badly.

Without warning, a flapping sound similar to that of webbed talons sounded from behind. They all turned their heads to face the doorway, where a shivering, silent as always Tsuanmi stood, eyes on Webs. She seemed utterly horrified, even more than usual, if that was possible. There seemed to be a slight underlying tone of anger in the way she looked at him, but it was mostly fear. She raised a trembling talon to point at him. Without a word, she slowly pointed her talon at Hawk. Despite having not said anything, we could see it in her eyes.

Death.

Hawk's eyes widened. "What's going on?" He asked.

Clay but his lip. He wanted to say something. It felt he would burst at any moment if he didn't tell. How could he keep such a thing a secret? He had to say it. Now.

"The guardians are planning to kill Hawk!" He blurted, before slamming a talon on his mouth.

Hawk switched his gaze between Clay, Webs, and Tsunami. He looked at the SeaWing dragonet for conformation that what Clay said was true, and she nodded. Hawk looked terrified, and he stared at Webs incredulously. Clay didn't know why, but he understood. If he had just found out that the dragons who raised him were trying to kill him, he'd be shocked to. But, he'd probably then kill them right away out of anger rather than just staring. 

"What?!" Sunny shouted. "Why?!" 

Webs stayed silent. Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Dune! Kestrel! Asha!" He screamed, loud enough that Clay wouldn't be surprised if the entire continent could hear him.

Not even a minute later, the three guardians came rushing into the history cave. Kestrel looked annoyed, Dune didn't seem to care, and Asha looked concerned.

"What do you want?" Kestrel snarled. "This better be important."

"Why were you planning to kill Hawk?!" Sunny exclaimed angrily, and Polar nodded. 

Kestrel's eyes widened, then smoke began pluming out of her nose in large amounts, while Dune backed away and Asha cowered, covering her ears.

"How did you know?!" She roared. Clay was surprised she didn't attack Sunny right there and then. 

"I was spying on you." Clay said bluntly, unafraid of what his guardians might do. "I don't know how Tsunami figured out, though. Didn't see her in the water."

"I told you someone might be in the water!" Dune hissed. Asha frowned.

"I didn't want to." She murmured, giving Hawk an apologetic look.

"Let's just kill that SkyWing now and get it over with." Kestrel growled.

Before anyone could protest, Kestrel had leaped at Hawk, pinning him down to the ground. Sunny gasped, Tsunami and Polar had backed away in fear, while Starflight and Clay simply watched the shocking scene unfold.

Should he let Hawk die? The thought invaded Clay's mind once again, putting him in distress. What should he do? What can he do? Why, why, why?

With a 'leap of faith', he jumped into the fighting scene and bashed into Kestrel, knocking her off the younger SkyWing. Hawk stared up in surprise and confusion, but regained his strength to stand. He stumbled alongside Clay, who was facing down Kestrel.

"Thanks." Hawk whispered to him.

"I'm only doing it because I want to get rid of you myself." Clay half-lied. "Don't think I'd care if you got hurt." He spat. Hawk looked slightly hurt, but otherwise seemed unaffected by Clay's remark. 

"You fools!" Kestrel screamed, flames bursting from her mouth. Clay spread his wing with Hawk had ducked under, leaving him intact, saved by Clay's fireproof scales. 

Clay's gaze landed on Tsunami, who was quietly sneaking away while everyone was distracted. He was intruiged, and he shot a glance to the others, telling them to fight in a meantime by using his eyes, hoping it went unnoticed by the guardians. He pretended to dodge an attack from Dune, then slipped away to follow Tsunami under all the commotion. He saw her slide underwater, to which he quickly followed.

He saw Tsunami disappear into a dark hole that was deep underneath the river. He slipped into the hole, barely fitting inside. It was only then that he remembered he could only be underwater for an hour before his breathe gave out. He wished he had surfaced earlier to get some more air, but it was too late for that. He couldn't turn around due to how small the inside of the hole was.

Suddenly, he saw light. He surfaced, and saw... A glowing cave? He'd never seen a glowing cave before. 

Clay spotted Tsunami's tail just barely peeking from above the water, and he chased after it through the glowing cave. It was then that he noticed a light at the end of the cave. But it wasn't the same light like the ones that illuminated the cave. It reminded him of the sun, which he could sometimes see through the small hole in the top of the dormitories. 

Wait, the sun?

He swam closer and closer to the light, and it got brighter and brighter. Then, with a swift flap of his wings, he found himself in a wide open space. 

The outside world.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay searches for Tsunami

Clay thought that the sun would burn his eyes out. He certainly wasn't expecting to be thrown off a river and out to the world he'd yearned to go to for so long. Everything was so sudden, having lived for six years under that cave fairly normally only to find himself running away from his guardians who had just attacked him and the other dragonets. He had never flown much before, being raised in a cave, so he nearly dropped out of the sky after unexpectedly leaping into what seemed to be a forest. The sun seemed to be lowering and slowly disappearing off into the horizon, making the stars ever so slightly visible. Despite that, it was till terribly bright, making him squint and unable to fly properly.

He just barely saved himself before crash-landing, cautiously gliding to the ground. He took a deep breath, attempting to absorbe and understand his surroundings. He was finally free. But why did he still feel trapped?

He soon realized that Tsunami must've been out here somewhere. In fact, if she was able to so quickly escape through that hole, then that means she's been coming here for ages! Yet, Clay was to confused and tired to be angry. He just wanted to... think.

Wait, he was free. It sunk in. He could kill the RainWing Queen. After all those years, he could finally do it. But it didn't feel right. He had the odd feeling in his body that urged him to do something. Something that had to do with finding Tsunami. But why was he suddenly wanting to do this? He didn't care about any of the dragonets, especially Tsunami. They were all stupid, disgusting freaks. Great, now he felt distressed all over again. He hated that feeling.

He could so easily just run away. Leave everything and everyone behind, with nothing in his way. He could save the two trapped tribes, the ones from the prophecy. It was so easy, so simple. He would finally be the hero he'd always wanted to be. That is what he wanted, right?

Yet he somehow found himself trekking through the forest in search of a deep blue SeaWing dragonet. 

He didn't know how he ended up searching for someone he had no likeness for. Maybe he'd never know, maybe he'd be stuck in this horrible, confused, questioning state forever. He really hoped that wasn't the case. 

Having never been in a forest before, he was constantly bumping into things, jumping at every new thing that appeared out of nowhere. He hated to admit it, but this was not what he was expecting to see in the outside world. He had no idea how to live out here, the cave being the only thing he knew. Was he really fit for being in the prophecy?

No. Wait. Of course he is. Shut up, brain.

There seemed to be no sign of Tsunami anywhere. He was hoping he might find another lake which was where Tsunami would most likely be, but it seemed to just be trees and grass for miles ahead. Tsunami could be anywhere.

But she would stick out like a sore claw. A painfully blue dragon in this mess of brown and green? It should be easy. So why hadn't he found her yet. Was she hiding on purpose? Did she know that Clay and followed her? He sighed, the sounds of birds and rustling leaves in the wind sounding louder and more annoying than ever. Almost in a mocking manner. We're the plants making fun of him?

If he was paying attention, he might have noticed the rustling bush behind him, along with dark blue eyes watching him carefully. 

\---

How long had he been searching? The sun had gone down, and his limbs were terribly sore. He flopped down into the ground, resting his arms and legs after walking around for what felt like hours on end. He didn't know why he was wasting his time looking for Tsunami, but he didn't want to leave. Where would he even go anyways? He hadn't studied a map in forever, he didn't even know where the Rainforest was. He knew it was south, but it was a long ways from where he was now, so there would be no point. He couldn't even get back inside the caves, since Kestrel would probably kill him on the spot.

Wait. Kestrel? He suddenly remembered how he got here in the first place. Was Hawk dead? We're all the others dead? Would Kestrel and the other guardians be looking for him and Tsunami, so they could finish them all off?

He cried out in frustration, starting some birds out of the trees. If he wasn't so cold from the nighttime, he would've spit fire as well. He didn't even mind if it meant that the forest would go up in flames. It would make finding Tsunami much easier. Unless she died with the fire as well. Then he would've killed her instead. Ugh, why was everything so complicated? 

He didn't even think that his loud roar would attract a certain someone. 

He noticed the distinct sound of flapping wings coming from above. Panicking, he hid underneath a tree, hopefully out of sight from whoever was flying down from the sky. He watched as a red dragon in armor, which Clay guessed to be a SkyWing guard, and another, much larger SkyWing wearing gold and rubies. He gasped quietly.

"I heard something." The larger SkyWing said, her voice a mix of caution and eagerness. 

The SkyWing guard nodded and began scanning the place, carefully looking at everything as he stood right beside the bigger SkyWing. Clay shrunk closer to the tree, hoping that the shadows would hide him from view. The SkyWing guard had skimmed over him completely, making Clay silently sigh with relief, realizing that he'd been holding his breath.

Why wasn't the SkyWing moving around to physically search everything? He seemed to be staying very, very close to the larger SkyWing. As Clay looked at the gold-wearing dragon longer, he noticed a more... royal aura to her.

The Queen. It hit Clay harder than a boulder. He was in the presence, or hiding from, the actual SkyWing Queen herself. No wonder the guard was staying so close to her. It was to protect her. But, even if that was true, the guard would have moved, wouldn't he? Or was the Queen just being overly careful? Was she... scared of something? She seemed to be shuffling her wings uncomfortably every so often. She was like Tsunami, except less twitchy and quiet and freaky. Oh, and the Queen was actually royalty. Tsunami was just a normal dragon, she wasn't like a princess or something. She certainly didn't act like it. 

Speaking of the SeaWing herself, he heard a quiet sound, similar to that of a hiss, that went unnoticed by the two SkyWings. He twisted his head around, carefully making sure not to make any noise, and realized with horror that underneath his claw was something thin and scaly. A tail. He looked behind him, only to see a very familiar blue SeaWing staring back. He surpressed the urge to yelp in surprise. Tsunami continued to stare, as if she was hypnotized by something. 

How long had Tsunami been there? Did Clay really not notice her? Was he too focused on the SkyWings? Although, to be fair, Tsunami could be standing right next to you and you wouldn't even notice. She really is very quiet. He was honestly shocked that she even let out a hiss.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say- or whisper- something, but Tsunami shook her head and raised a talon to his mouth. She pointed to the SkyWings, who still hadn't left. They just sat there, as if waiting for something. Or someone, perhaps.

"Why are they still there?" He risked a whisper to Tsunami, who simply shrugged in response. However, she seemed to wince as she did so. Clay noticed that her wing was limping.

Unfortunately for him, the SkyWing guard must've heard. He cursed under his breath as the armored dragon rushed to the place they were hiding, furiously tugging their arms and forcing them to be exposed to the moonlight. The Queen hissed, puffing up her chest in an attempt to seem intimidating, but Clay could tell that she seemed hesitant.

"What are you doing here? Are you spies from the other kingdoms? Assassins? Are you here to kill me?" The Queen began bombarding them with questions, barely even taking thought that Clay and Tsuanmi might be harmless. Well, Tsunami was harmless, but certainly not Clay.

"We are from the prophecy." Clay said, pride swelling inside him.

"Oh." The Queen seemed both disappointed and embarrassed. "My apologies, I thought you might kill me."

Clay furrowed his brow. Was the SkyWing Queen really this paranoid? Well, it made sense. SkyWings were overly protective of their treasure, making them fairly arrogant and stupid. Maybe the Queen just thought they were going to steal her treasure or whatever. Clay rolled his eyes, unsurprised. 

"The only Queen we'll be killing is the RainWing Queen." Clay assured. 

"Ah, I see." The SkyWing Queen nodded. "Well, I am Queen Scarlet. Nice to meet you, dragonets."

Tsunami lowered her head and bowed to Queen Scarlet, but Clay simply stayed where he was. Scarlet giggle, and Tsunami looked up at her in confusion.

"I never though a SeaWing would bow down to me!" She said, almost amused. "I'm flattered." 

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we've got a cave to get back to." Clay growled, glaring at Tsunami who whimpered under his gaze.

"Actually," Scarlet held up a talon to stop Clay before he flew away. "I was wondering. Would you and the other dragonets of destiny like to come with me back to my kingdom? Just until you have to fulfill the prophecy of course." 

Clay stopped in his tracks. Was... Scarlet really offering for them to stay in her kingdom? Why would any queen do that? It would be dangerous to let another tribe into your kingdom without thinking twice. He wanted to scoff, but the offer honestly didn't sound too bad. In fact, it was a bit too good to be true. But Clay decided to play along. He had an idea, after all.

"In that case, why don't I get the other dragonets?" He said, putting on a smile. Scarlet immediately fell for it. She smiled back, excited that her offer was accepted.

"Hooray! The dragonets of destiny notice me!" She exclaimed joyfully.

Tsunami looked at Clay in utter confusion, and he simply mouthed 'just go along'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome back to episode five million of 'Star doesn't know how to properly manage their fanfictions'


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay thought he was free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
> 
> I forgot about this sorrryyyy

Clay watched the SkyWing Queen waving at him and Tsunami as they both headed back to the mountain. After having convinced Scarlet they were going to get the other dragonets and come back with her to stay in her kingdom, they successfully escaped the predicament. Tsunami was extremely reluctant, but after being well intimidated by Clay's piercing glare, she gave in. Scarlet was clueless to what they were doing, and Clay's plan to fulfill the entire purpose of his life.

Clay hated to admit that he had no idea where the mountain was, so he disliked it when he made Tsunami lead the way, since she had memorized it after going in and out for so long. Being led around by a freakish SeaWing was the last thing he wanted, but he didn't really have much of a choice. The sun was already beginning to rise once again by the time they arrived, and immediately Clay began to hesitate.

The guardians must've noticed they were gone by now. They were probably waiting for them, and the moment they got back, Kestrel and the others would pounce. He clearly hadn't thought too far ahead. He quickly shook off his panic, deciding that he would find a way to get what he both wanted and needed. However, the feeling still lingered as he landed in front of the entrance.

"You know how to open this thing, right?" Clay asked Tsunami. He felt stupid for not knowing how to open the door, but not paying attention in lessons was definitely worth it.

Tsunami nodded, and carefully pressed a talon against a small rock on the wall that Clay now noticed had stuck out a little bit too much. With that, the door became loose, and the two dragonets pushed it open with only a small amount of force. Clay was prepared to fight, attack, anything to keep himself alive. Tsunami, he didn't really care.

As he pushed the door open, silently closing it behind him (well, you can't really make a large boulder sound quiet), the silence that greeted him was... odd, to say the least. No shouting, no blood, no terrified screams of pain. Just silence.

Oh, and the sound of chains rattling along with fire. Of course, this led to the two dragonets rushing to the main cave.

Clay certainly wasn't expecting to see Starflight and Hawk tied to a wooden pole, followed by Sunny and Polar who were trying to help them escape. The most surprising part was certainly the obvious lack of guardians in the area. He would've thought that at least one dragon would be dead, or seriously injured, but they all seemed fairly intact. Polar had small splotches of blue blood smears from his mouth, but nothing serious. When they heard the two approaching, they gasped.

"Clay? Tsunami?!" Sunny exclaimed, then immediately covered her mouth with her talons.

"Shh, the guardians will hear!" Starflight said, in his usual kind yet stern tone that he only gave to Sunny and no one else.

"Can you help us get them out?" Polar asked, but Clay noticed the way the IceWing hesitated saying so. Clay snorted.

"Fine. But after that, we're all going to get out of this place." He hissed, as though it were supposed to be some kind of insult.

Everyone stared at him as though he'd just said the sky is falling. Sunny dropped the chains she'd had just picked up in her mouth, laying limp beside the wooden pole. He shifted his wings, uncomfortable with the way everyone was glaring at him like the world was about to end. Even Starflight looked shocked, but it only lasted for a moment before he let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Really?" Starflight scoffed. "What are we going to do? Just waltz out the door magically?"

Ignoring the NightWing, Hawk gasped. "You found a way out?"

Clay glanced at Tsunami. Should he take the credit for finding the exit, or tell everyone Tsunami did it? Would she get more appreciation if he said so? But why in the world would he do that for someone he doesn't care about?

"Actually," He choked on his words, preparing to say something he'd never said before. "Tsunami found it."

Clay had to try and hold back on saying that Tsunami had known for a long time when he saw the way everyone turned to the SeaWing with disbelief and joy in their eyes. Even Sunny, the one who often liked to suggest that staying in the caves was the best idea, had looked as though she'd been handed her parents right in front of her.

Oh. Parents. That was probably why Sunny was so happy. He hadn't even thought of that.

"Wow, really!?" Polar asked, smiling. "We can leave?"

He definitely was trying to keep his voice down, but it still made Clay wince. He was expecting this reaction, but they couldn't leave yet. He needed his plan to work. Because, if it did, they could take down the RainWing Queen and her followers with an entire army of SkyWings.

Sure, SkyWimgs weren't smart, or good fighters. But the Queen had basically just offered an army of fire breathing dragons. How could Clay refuse? Scarlet certainly seemed gullible enough to let a few dragonets borrow half her subjects. He knew for a fact that SkyWings had armies and guards, they just didn't use them too often, except to protect the Queen against attacks from less idiotic tribes that tried to seize leadership of an entire tribe. Just in the same way the RainWings had. 

"Yes. We can leave..." Clay rapped his chin. "Tonight."

Polar's smile fell. "Tonight? But the sun just rose!"

Clay chose not to respond. He couldn't risk letting anyone know they'd found a queen. He knew Tsunami wouldn't say anything, because she never speaks. His secret would be safe. As long as he got the dragonets in line.

"Now," Clay began. "How do we break these chains?" 

\---

"Wait, where is the exit?" Sunny asked, tugging off the chains that had already begun to break.

"There's a hole underwater that leads to the outside." Clay explained. "I can get out and open the door from the outside."

"Wait," Polar began. "If that's how you came back in, then why didn't you let us out then?"

"And then what? Leave us here?" Starflight snarled.

"Besides, we can't trust you to do that by yourself. You'd probably just leave." Polar continued.

Clay grumbled, staying quiet once again. The guardians still hadn't shown their faces yet, and Clay was a bit paranoid about it, though he'd never admit it. The chains were tough, but after another quick blast of fire, they clashed to the ground with a loud rattle that Clay hoped the guardians wouldn't hear. 

"There." Starflight huffed. "Now will you get us out of here."

"First, me," Clay paused and glanced behind him. "And Tsunami will go through the tunnel and open the door from the outside. Make sure that it's us, too."

"Who else would it be at the door?" Hawk asked.

 _You idiot, the guardians might have left while you weren't looking, and they might come back!_ Clay rolled his eyes, deciding to leave the SkyWing confused.

"Come on, Tsunami." Clay basically ordered.

The SeaWing nodded and followed as he dissapeared underwater. They squeezed through the tunnel once again, soaring back out into the sunlight. He loved the outside, it was a lot better than the dark, damp caves. The sun was so gentle and kind, whereas the ominous caves, empty of life, echoed throughout endless corridors that bored him to no end. The only light was fire, or the occasional glow of Webs' and Tsunami's scales. He hated his guardians for trapping him for so long, when a entire world was out there, waiting for his rescue.

Quickly rushing around back to the door, they faced it once again, but Clay held out a wing to stop Tsunami from pressing the rock. Tsunami backed away, lowering her head. Clay turned his head to face the once again lowering sun as it vanished behind the horizon, just like his first time outside. Finally, when stars began to appear, he pressed the Boulder, revealing a group of four dragonets, a few of which were bouncing excitedly for their first time. They all pushed passed him, staring in awe at the world revealed to them.

"Wow." Sunny breathed. "It's more incredible then I imagined."

"Pfft. I guess it's okay." Starflight muttered, closing in his wings tighter.

Hawk gasped, and almost immediately leaped into the air, doing about ten flips. He looked so free, no longer bound within rocky walls. The smile on his face suggested so. Polar flew up beside him, dancing in the sky, although he didn't look as happy as the SkyWing. He was probably disappointed.

No ice, no cold. This is no place for an IceWing. Clay thought. But the caves weren't quite good either. 

As everyone resisted in this new light, Clay be had to convice them to search for Scarlet. She was probably still waiting in the same place he found her, (or she found them) so he didn't worry all that much.

At least, not until the sound of at least twenty pairs of flapping wings appeared from above.

The Queen, in all her golden glory, landed in front of the dragonets, a kind yet insane grin.

"There you are, MudWing!" She excalimed happily. "I'm assuming these are all your friends!"

"W-who are you?" Sunny stammered, backing away.

"Well, I'm Queen Scarlet, of course!" She said far too cheerily.

"What... Are you..." Clay trailed off, confused.

"Well, I'm taking you to my kingdom, of course!" She said, throwing her arms in the air. "Won't that be fun!" She backed away from where she was standing, revealing four angry and horrified dragons. The guardians. "And they'll be coming with us!"

"Leave us alone." Dune snapped. "We don't have time for-"

An abrupt snap. A guards talon were wrapped around the SandWing guardian's neck, who had collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap. Sunny took a few steps back, gasping in horror, before tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Oh, don't cry!" The queen smiled. "You'll be happy once were all back in my kingdom!"

As if perfectly on cue, guards from all sides grabbed their arms, pulling them and pinning them down. Clay stared up at the SkyWing Queen, who was still continues to grin.

"Bye bye, now!" She waved at him, before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay wakes up in a very different and unexpected place

It was very warm. The ground felt like small, soft pebbles that were scalding hot. The air was hot too, and he was sweating. But Clay didn't mind. He was too tired to mind. He just wanted to sleep, and wake up back... Um, wherever he would wake up. He doesn't remember. But it's not important anyways.

Clay could hear voices. At first, he assumed they were in his head. But after time, when conciseness slowly came back to him, he realized the voices were coming from the outside world. There were two voices, who sounded like they were negotiating something. One was familiar, it was the annoyingly frustrating voice of that annoyingly frustrating SkyWing queen. Her high pitched and 'innocent' tone made Clay want to claw her face off. But, since he was still half asleep, he couldn't do so. Unfortunately. 

The second was unfamiliar. A voice with a fancy accent yet low tones that was undeniably royal. It couldn't be a RainWing or NightWing, for obvious reasons, but it couldn't be a MudWing either, since Clay heard that they were much less... dignified. It couldn't be a IceWing, since them and the SkyWings were always 'fighting' (The SkyWings would attempt to fight, but a single snarl from Queen Glacier always sent them fleeing). Since the SkyWing Queen was already there, it wouldn't make sense for her to be discussing with someone of there own family bloodline over something that sounded like buying and selling. So, that only left...

"Queen Oasis, I've already brought them." Scarlet's voice said, sounding a bit exasperated. "I said, I want some of your treasure, and I'll give you 300 scales. Don't you know what you could do with 300 scales?"

"With all due respect, Queen Scarlet," The voice of Oasis was calm, but underlying tones of anger and 'this dragon will have her organs sold if she doesn't shut up' were layered beneath. "Our treasure is very important. Yes, these dragonets are important as well, but I would need at least 600 scales if you want any of our prized possessions." 

"600 scales?! Are you trying to make me poor?" Scarlet hissed. Clay groaned. His head hurt, and the everything was really hot, which was not helping at all.

"Oh great, one of them is waking up." Oasis sighed. "Inject them again so they stay asleep longer. Then maybe we can work out a reasonable deal."

Clay heard Scarlet grab something. Inject? What were they going to do? Talon-steps grew closer and he wanted to run away, but he couldn't move. Just as he began to open his eyes, something sharp stabbed into his side. He let out a quiet gasp, pain engulfing his body. But it only lasted for a few moments until everything went dark once again.

\---

Shuffling. Someone was shaking him. Talons were on his arms. Someone was yelling. It was really loud, and annoying. Clay turned away from the loud yelling and furrowed his brow. The talons came back. Was it already day? Kestrel never woke him up this early. She was strict, sure, but still. Perhaps it was a special occasion? And wasn't Kestrel's voice more... Gruff? How odd. He didn't remember Kestrel sounding high pitched and desperate. Kind of like Sunny. 

Wait. 

His eyes snapped open and he sat up with such force that his vision got a bit blurry. The headache was back, and worse than ever. He brought his talons his head and squeezed his eyes closed again. Last he could remember was Oasis and Scarlet arguing before being stabbed in his ribs with something. A dagger? No, a dagger would've hurt a lot more. And probably have killed him.

"Clay? Are you awake?" Yep, that was definitely Sunny. He decided to reopen his eyes, and expectedly, he saw a pale yellow dragon holding his shoulders with a worried expression, which turned relieved after Clay blinked at her in confusion.

"Sunny? What's going on?" I looked around, and we appeared to be in some sort of dungeon area that, while being significantly less hotter than before, still radiated heat from all around. The walls were made of some kind of black stone that certainly added to the dungeon effect, but sand dotted the rocky, uncomfortable floor. I pulled away from Sunny's grasp in a panic and fluttered my wings.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Came the voice of a certain jeering know-it-all. "Only took you, like, an hour."

"Don't be mean, Starflight!" Sunny frowned at him, and he quickly shut his mouth.

"Well, he was injected twice with that stuff." Hawk shrugged. "That oughta have done something."

Polar nodded in agreement. Tsunami, a face that Clay would never admit he was happy to see, cowered in the corner with her wings tucked around her in a protective manner. She was shaking, and Clay couldn't but watch her while feeling something he'd never felt before. Guilt? Empathy? Nah, he was probably just thinking about how much of a freak she is. 

"Wait, injected?" Clay said, replaying Hawk's words. "I was injected? With what?"

"We don't know. Queen Oasis had a syringe that she'd use to make us fall asleep. Queen Scarlet must've borrowed it to kidnap us." Polar explained, tenderly rubbing a spot in his neck where Clay guessed the syringe was used. 

"Queen Oasis?" He asked, bewildered, but calmed down when his memories slowly returned. "Wait... I heard her and Scarlet talking earlier, and then I was 'injected' and went to sleep. They were talking about treasure and negotiating about scales." 

The others all looked at him gravely, excluding Tsunami who had curled up against the wall. Starflight was staring at the floor with an angry yet solemn expression, Sunny looked like she was going to burst into tears while Hawk and Polar stared seriously at him and one another.

Then, with a sigh, Starflight of all dragons finally spoke. "Yep. Queen Scarlet sold us to Queen Oasis."

Okay, Clay was now officially horrified. Sold? What were they, NightWings? No, Clay refused to be pushed around like a slave. The thought made him shiver. This wasn't supposed to happen. He and the other dragonets were supposed to escape, not get captured and trapped somewhere all over again.

"I-I don't know what they're gonna do to us." Sunny stuttered, and Starflight lay a wing over her as comfort.

"It can't be that bad, right?" Polar asked, looking up at Hawk specifically, and faltered when the SkyWing frowned as a response. "Right?"

"Hey, shut up!" A dragon from nearby hissed, who certainly wasn't one of them. Clay walked up to the bars of their dungeon cautiously, peeking outside to see a particularly grumpy SandWing guard staring right back. She flicked her black tongue at him and raised her tail barb threateningly. "Your little friends already tried blasting fire at me. Your lucky the Queen ordered me to watch you and keep you alive, or I would've killed them on the spot." She narrowed her eyes at Polar with a smirk. "His frostbreath missed me by a mile, though."

Clay was about to argue that he wasn't friends with the others, but found his mouth emitting no sound at all. It was terribly annoying, but he couldn't seem to help it. He instead growled at the guard, and slithered back in his cage. At the guards remark, Polar shrunk away a bit, embarrassed. Hawk looked apprehensive.

Sunny grimaced and sidled up next to Clay, who despite wanting to push her back, stayed still. "I tried reasoning with her since we're both SandWings, but she still refused. I can't blame her, though. She's just doing her job."

"I disagree. She's just being a stubborn brat." He growled. Luckily the guard didn't hear him, but he would've loved to see the look on her face as she tried not to kill him. Not that she could, anyways. Clay would definitely kill her first, without a doubt.

The two of them stayed silent for a long moment until Sunny began talking again. "Starflight yelled at your unconscious body for about ten minutes, blaming your for this, but then he just gave up after that." She giggled. "It was funny seeing him get mad at a body, though."

Clay suppressed a laugh. The image of Starflight screaming angrily while he was asleep certainly struck him as amusing, especially considering how the NightWing acted like he had such dignity. Sunny's smile fell suddenly and she looked up at Clay with a question in her eyes.

"Why did the Queen want us?" She asked. It was such a simple question. Or, at least, it sounded simple, but when Clay realized what she actually just said, his brain stopped working. That was, admittedly, a very good question. It could be money, right? But it didn't make sense. What made them all so valuable? Was it because they were part of a stupidly cryptic prophecy told by a fugitive NightWing slave who, for some reason, claimed that his tribe was superior? Ha, likely. Besides, the prophecy didn't even involve anyone else. It was just him (and the others, unfortunately) versus the RainWings. If anything, it would make even the slightest bit more sense if Scarlet had sold them to the RainWing Queen instead. In fact, Scarlet kidnapping them was confusing enough, and now they were in the Sand Kingdom! Ridiculous!

"Um, hello?" Sunny waved a talon in his face. "Earth to MudWing? Hey, that's kind of funny, you know, since MudWing like mud, which is part of the earth-"

"Yeah, I get it." Clay snapped. Sunny recoiled and silenced herself.

Loud, thumping talon-steps approached. Clay's fighting instincts flared and he got into a defensive position, similar to one the Dune taught him. Dune, who's neck was snapped right in front of him.

No time to think about that now.

The grumpy guard nodded at the new dragon and she slithered away, before a SandWing with black diamond patterns along her neck made herself shown to the dragonets. She was grinning maliciously, and judging from her stance and shiny, jeweled necklace, Clay guessed she was one of Oasis's daughters. He didn't know which one, though. He sort of skimmed over that part back in the caves, as he hadn't found it too important. 

"Hello, dragonets." Her voice sounded just like she looked; a snake. Maybe that was a hint to her name. Or maybe not. Clay backed away from the SandWing princess, who chuckled at his bared teeth. 

"You have such fight in you, MudWing. Mother will love that about you." She smirked, and her words confirmed his suspicions.

"What do you want with us?" Starflight covered Sunny with one of his wings. "Spit it out."

The princess shook her head and chuckled again. "Well, it's not what I want." She twirled a few chains in her claws.

"It's what the Queen and her audience wants."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hiatus ends! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter!


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